Sources inform that the US Department of Energy (DOE) is about to fund LED manufacturing R&D with up to $10M for developers of energy-saving lighting technologies,such as LEDs and OLEDs. It’s the third round of funding that directed toward this solid-state lighting research and development program area.
Applicants should focus on reducing the cost of LEDs/OLEDs through better manufacturing equipment, processes, and process control. Between 2 and 4 project awards will be granted. These will address the technical challenges facing SSL in the mainstream lighting market, particularly considering cost.
Over the course of the program, the Manufacturing Research and Development area has been funded with $28.2 million in federal funding, and leveraged $36.8 million in funding from the private sector.
The DOE expects solid-state lighting to reduce the amount of electricity used for US lighting by one fourth by 2030. This would save $15 billion and be the greenhouse gas emissions reduction equivalent of 21 million cars.
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